San Francisco: Google is buying Skybox Imaging in a deal that could serve as a launching pad for the Internet company to send its own fleet of satellites to take aerial pictures and provide online access to remote areas of the world.
The USD 500 million acquisition announced today initially will provide Google with the means to improve the quality and immediacy of the satellite imagery used in its digital maps.
Google Inc. Plans to use Skybox`s satellite already in orbit to supplement the material that it licenses from more than 1,000 sources, including other satellite companies such as DigitalGlobe and Astrium.
Eventually, though, Skybox could turn into another Google "moonshot" a term that CEO Larry Page has embraced for describing ambitious projects that could take several years to materialise.
Google hopes to build more satellites that could be used to beam Internet access to points around the world.
That would expand an effort that Google began a year ago when it unveiled "Project Loon" a venture featuring jellyfish-shaped balloons equipped with antennas to bring the Internet to parts of the world without the proper wiring to get online.
The expansion into satellites comes two months after Google bought drone maker Titan Aerospace for an undisclosed amount.
As the owner of the world`s most popular search engine and email service, Google typically benefits when more people are on the Internet to see the ads that generate most of the company`s annual revenue of USD 55 billion.
Google has parlayed its prosperity to finance about 250 million acquisitions during the past decade, using many of them to expand into new markets, including maps and mobile devices.
To the frustration of some investors, Google also has been spending billions of dollars exploring new frontiers of technology, including driverless cars, Internet-connected headwear and a startup called Calico striving to find ways to slow the aging process.
